Tea at Trianon: The Sack of Rome, 1527

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Monday, May 10, 2010

The Sack of Rome, 1527

The Mad Monarchist discusses one of the greatest atrocities of all time, perpetrated by Christians upon other Christians.

It was on this day in 1527 that one of the great disasters in modern European history occurred with the horrific sack of Rome by the out-of-control forces of the Holy Roman Empire. The violence was horrific, the cruelties committed were extreme and the desecrations unspeakable. It was certainly one of the most shameful episodes in the history of Europe and is generally considered as the end of the glorious Renaissance period. However, there was a shining example in this devastating atrocity and that was the immense heroism and sacrifice of the Papal Swiss Guard. All but a handful of these brave men were massacred, fighting to the death, overwhelmed and fighting up the very steps of St Peter’s Basilica; buying time with their lives for the handful that remained to escort Pope Clement VII to safety in Castel Sant’Angelo.

lara77 said...: The Swiss Guard not only saved the Pope's life but the French Royal Family when the mob attacked the Tuileries Palace. They were amazing men who put duty and service before their own lives.Any monarch or prelate would have been proud to have them guard their residence and person.; May 11, 2010 at 8:38:00 AM EDT
Hans Georg Lundahl said...: 1527?

An ominous year for Sweden too.

1520 - 1527 Sweden was under interdict for deposing uncanonically Archbishop Gustav Eriksson Trolle (ironically same name and same patronym as for the Wasa elected King), but officially asking the Pope to replace Trolle by one of the brothers Magnusson/Månsson (Latin Magni).

That year the Parliament of Westaros decided to "purify" our religion from "papist superstitions" ... ouch!; May 19, 2010 at 10:00:00 AM EDT
Hans Georg Lundahl said...: By the way, one count of Orange around the shift to the Nassau dynasty participated in that crime.; August 14, 2010 at 4:46:00 AM EDT